Recipe: Cherry-almond cobbler

Cherry-almond cobbler

Eric Boyd / Los Angeles Times

(Eric Boyd / Los Angeles Times)

Cherry-almond cobbler

Total time: 50 minutes

Servings: 4

Note: Rather than having the familiar crisp biscuit topping, this cobbler is cake-like, almost like a clafouti. Serve it with vanilla ice cream or a bit of lightly sweetened whipping cream or creme fraiche.

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the cherries in a small (4-cup), well-buttered gratin dish. Sprinkle them with 1 tablespoon of sugar and the orange zest and stir to combine. Roast the cherries until they soften slightly and become fragrant, about 10 minutes.

2. In the meantime, grind together the almond meal and butter, one-third cup sugar, 3 egg yolks, orange liqueur and salt in a food processor.

4. Add one-third of the egg whites to the food processor bowl and pulse to incorporate into the almond meal. Spoon the mixture into one side of the bowl with the egg whites, spread the egg whites over the top and fold the egg whites into the mixture until the topping is light and somewhat flowing. There may be small patches of unincorporated egg white; this is better than overfolding the batter and deflating it.

5. Spoon the egg white mixture over the top of the roasted cherries and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar. Place the gratin dish on a cookie sheet to catch any spills and return to the oven to bake until the top is puffed and well-browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.